For my first neuro note, I decided to watch the movie Me Before You. This was a movie that I had seen long before I started OT school. I remember watching it and being so caught up in all my emotions. It is still to this day one of my favorite movies. I decided it was worth it to watch it again- this time, through a new lens that I have developed in my few months in OT school. Watching the movie a second time, I saw it differently. I was not only watching for entertainment, but also analyzing the relationships and the hardships faced by the main character with his disability- a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. Since we recently learned about spinal cord injuries in class, I though this would be a great way to review what I've learned and compare it to what was shown in the movie
The Run-Down
Me Before You is a love story that didn't start out as such. The movie begins with a average woman named Lou who lives in England. Lou ends up losing her job at a cafe and finds herself searching for something else. She ends up working as a caretaker for a man named Will. Will was a very successful businessman and thrill-seeker who had been paralyzed two years prior after being hit by a motorcycle while crossing the street. When Lou and Will met, Will was very rude and bitter towards Lou. As time goes on, Will warms up to Lou, and their relationship grows stronger and stronger. Somewhere along the way, Lou learns the truth about Will and why she was hired as his caretaker. Will had tried to commit suicide, and Lou was hired to watch him and make sure he did not hurt himself before he was admitted into an assisted suicide facility. Lou embarks on this journey to make Will see that life is still worth living, and they end up traveling to exotic places all around the world. Obviously in love, Lou thinks that she's done enough to change Will's mind about wanting to go to the assisted suicide facility, but in a truly devastating twist, Will decides to go on with the suicide and ends up dying and leaving Lou a little money so she can follow her dreams.
My Reflection
As much comfort as I took in the fact that this was just a movie and not real life, the realities of living with a spinal cord injury are so real. Spinal cord injuries can impact every aspect of your life. Depending on the degree of impairment, people may be tetraplegic where all 4 limbs are involved or paraplegic where just 2 limbs are involved. While loss of motor control is what most people think of with a SCI, there are other complications that occur as a result as well. Some of these include poikilothermy (when the body takes on the temperature of the surrounding environment), bradycardia (decreased heart rate), and decubitus ulcers (bed sores). Many people are left with severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts after a SCI. This could be due to the fact that they are having trouble adjusting to a new life or struggling with being dependent on others to care for them. Something that I find so appealing about the profession of occupational therapy is that we are dedicated to helping clients of all ages do the things they love independently. The burden of having to be dependent on others to take care of him and not being able to do what he wanted was enough to lead Will to want to take his own life. While Me Before You ended incredibly sadly, I am so happy to be in route to becoming a practitioner who is dedicated to helping others live their lives to the fullest and create happy endings in the lives of the clients with whom I work.
Rosenfelt, K., Owen, A., Baden-Powell, S. (Producers) & Sharrock, T. (Director). (2016). Me before you [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Bros.
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